Storytelling

Leave a comment Posted on October 15, 2015 Nostalgia, parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Our First Time to Carve Pumpkins Together

4 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

At the age of 34, I have finally carved a pumpkin for the first time. It’s just something I had never gotten around to until now. Of course, I needed your help.

I had you draw on the faces of the pumpkins with a marker (practicing on a sheet of paper first), then I carved them with a knife, after gutting the pumpkin. These are of course the pumpkins you picked at Gentry’s Farm last weekend.

You and I set up shop in the driveway, sitting at your Thomas the Train table.

I think we did a pretty good job for our first time carving pumpkins.

It brought so much more meaning to the act of going to pick out own pumpkins when we ourselves were the ones to “make them come to life.”

Now that I know how to carve pumpkins, I’m almost eager to do more of them. Since it’s just a once a year event, it’s not something we’ll have a lot of constant experience doing.

But maybe we should. Maybe we should regularly carve pumpkins together. I think we make a great team.

After all, you are a very crafty boy.

When I was doing the dishes on Sunday, I grabbed a Fiji bottle of water that was next to all the other dirty dishes. As I grabbed it to remove the lid to wash it, I realized there were several google eyes floating around, looking back at me.

The funny thing is, I didn’t even question it. I just set it aside; assuming it was just some random project you came up with when you were hanging out with me.

I know that often while Mommy is cooking, you set up your work station at the kitchen table and throw stuff together in a sort of artistic science experiment.

So whether you’re designing pumpkin faces, or making eyeball-filled water bottles, you’re using your talents and having fun in the process.

Love,

Daddy

1 Comment Posted on October 12, 2015 parenting, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: Our Family’s Visit to Gentry’s Farm in Franklin, TN

4 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

Last week at school your teacher apparently had read your class a book that talked about a corn maze. So Friday morning as I was helping you brush your teeth, you requested we go to one as a family.

The closest “pumpkin patch” that had a corn maze was Gentry’s Farm in Franklin, TN. So Saturday morning we headed that way.

At Gentry’s Farm, the pumpkin patch is basically right across from the parking lot, so as soon as we arrived, you found the very best pair of pumpkins out there.

Amazingly, they were only $3 each. We also let you pick out an all-white “ghost” pumpkin as well, from the $1 bin.

From there, we hopped on the hay ride and checked out the farm. We got to see some very young calves with their mommies.

Afterwards, you played on some of the playground a little bit before we finally visited the main attraction, in your mind at least.

Before entering the corn maze, we studied the map first. We saw there were two openings into the maze; both serving as either an entrance or an exit, depending on which one you started with.

We were about halfway through the maze when I figured out the trick:

“Jack, just follow the line of people coming towards us; as they should go where we just came from as well.”

You enjoyed your first corn maze. Plus, we saw a lot of people we knew there.

I’m glad you decided you wanted to go. Lots of good memories were created there for our family.

It’s the happening place to be right now in the Nashville area, for families looking to participate in the token American traditions for the fall season:

Picking pumpkins, going on a hayride, and walking through a corn maze.

We also had a lot of fun actually carving the pumpkins, too. But I’ll save that for another letter to you.

Love,

Daddy

Leave a comment Posted on October 10, 2015 food reviews, Health, Storytelling, Uncategorized, vegan

Annie’s Vegan Organic Pasta Dinners (Vegan Mac and Cheese)

Thursday evening I came home from work, anxious to see the responses I had received after officially announcing just that morning that our family will have a new addition scheduled to arrive in April 2016.

(Take a moment to process that fact if you didn’t already know. That just happened this week.)

But before I could make it to the laptop, my wife informed me that we had received a package from Annie’s Homegrown!

It’s funny because before I even opened the box, I sensed what was inside, and I was indeed correct.

No one from Annie’s had ever told me they were working on “vegan mac and cheese” but I had a feeling they were; as they are keen to cater to organic, plant-based demographics like my family.

When I opened the box, there was a potato and a pumpkin with special messages for me.

Then I saw the brand-new product:

A box of Annie’s “Organic Vegan Shells & Creamy Sauce”, as well as their “Organic Vegan Elbows & Creamy Sauce”, which is made from rice.

Both options are made with pumpkin and sweet potato.

Here’s a reminder about vegan food: It contains no cholesterol. It may contain fat, but when you look at the cholesterol percentage, you’ll never see more than 0% on the label.

Some other things that make Annie’s vegan organic pasta dinners special compared to the average “mac and cheese” dinners is that these contain no artificial flavors, synthetic colors or preservatives.

I’m the vegan of our family (my wife and son are vegetarians) and I must say it sure was nice being able to eat mac and cheese for both dinner Thursday night and lunch on Friday.

Consider this: I’ve been a vegan for exactly 2 and a half years as of this week. That means no mac-and-cheese for that whole time for me… until now.

My wife was very delighted to see Annie’s had also sent a very nice vegan cookbook; as my wife is by default, a vegan chef. After all, she’s now exclusively been making vegan meals every day for our family for the past 2 and a half years.

It just so happens we are planning to launch a spin-off of Family Friendly Daddy Blog, which will feature my wife’s journey of “baby #2”, who is currently 12 weeks old inside the womb. My wife plans to also focus on cooking vegan meals as well.

Our son Jack was happy because he took it upon himself to decorate the pumpkin that Annie’s sent us.

So there, you heard it first from me: Annie’s now carries “vegan mac and cheese.”

Leave a comment Posted on October 8, 2015October 8, 2015 Health, parenting, Spirituality, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Holly or Logan: You’re Due on April 21, 2016

12 weeks.

Dear Holly or Logan,

Where should I begin? First of all, let me officially proclaim it: You exist. In about 6 months, you will be meeting your family face to face.

You are a human being with a soul. You are currently 12 weeks old.

God has created you and is knitting together in the womb as I write this. He has placed you with us, the Shell family; you will be the newest and youngest member.

It sounds so cosmic, doesn’t it? But I suppose it really is.

By the way, I am your Daddy. I will serve as your guide, your mentor, and ultimately, the narrator of your life.

You will learn so much from me. But I can’t fit it all into just one letter. That’s why I’ll be writing you at least once a week, for the rest of your life; just like I have for your brother since several months before he was born.

Speaking of, you have an older brother named Jack, who will be 5 and a half years-old by the time you are predicted to be born on April 21, 2015.

And of course you can’t forget Mommy; you’re actually in her tummy right now. She’s taking good care of you.

Oh, you should know this: There’s actually a decent chance you and I could share our birthdays, since I’ll be turning 35 the day before your due date.

Right now, we don’t know whether you’re a girl or a boy. If you’re a girl, your name will be Holly; and if you’re a boy, your name will be Logan.

We should know for sure around the first week of December, which is 2 months from now.

Until then, I’ll just refer to you as “Holly or Logan.”

Now that you have met your family, you should take a look at yourself. That’s what all these black and white pictures are. That’s you.

It looks like you have a halo about you, as you can see. Apparently that’s the yolk sack, and it’s completely normal.

But it’s fun to think of you as a tiny little baby with a halo.

So there’s what you need to know for now. We should be seeing you in about 6 months. Until then, I have plenty more to say to you in a lifetime supply of letters to come.

Love,

Daddy

P.S. Here is a fun video I made with your brother, which helped tell everyone about you coming into this world.

3 Comments Posted on October 8, 2015October 8, 2015 marriage, parenting, Pregnancy, Storytelling, Uncategorized

Dear Jack: This is Definitely a Facebook Pregnancy Announcement!

4 years, 10 months.

Dear Jack,

Mommy’s due date is April 21^st, 2016; just one day after my 35^th birthday.

We have preparing you for this all year. Every time we would ask you if you wanted a brother or sister, you always replied, “No! I just want my stuffed animals!”

But as of this summer, that question ceased to simply be a hypothetical question.

A few weeks ago, we made it clear: “Jack, there is a little baby inside of Mommy’s tummy.”

Since then, you have been very excited and curious about this. You no longer see having a baby brother or sister as a bad thing.

I love the fact that you’ll be 5 and a half years-old when your baby brother or sister arrives.

You’re already such an independent boy. It’s going to be so rewarding seeing you help take care of your sibling. You’re going to be great at it.

This is going to be so exciting for our family!

Two days ago I posted a sneaky picture of our family on Facebook. I had been crafting this idea for weeks now. I wanted to release a subtle hint that to the general public that our family is expanding.

To play on our last name, I had each of us hold a seashell towards the camera; then I took a picture of Mommy’s other hand, secretly holding a 4^th seashell behind her back. Then I left a simple caption:

“Shell collection.”

But I don’t think anyone really figured it out.

Plus, a couple of weeks ago I wrote a letter to you called The Dresser for Our Guest Room. It was really a post about your baby brother or sister’s room instead; they are the “guest.”

Not to mention, earlier this week I published People Finally Stopped Asking If We’re Going to Have Another Kid, which gave birth to much speculation.

You and I also made a “very special episode” of Jack-Man, in which it is revealed Jack-Man is going to be a big brother; as if that wasn’t an obvious giveaway to the general public. Even after releasing that video, the news still didn’t spread.

This letter itself is a throwback to This is Not a Facebook Pregnancy Announcement from July, in which I proclaimed in big bold letters, “There is not a baby on the way. I promise.”

Ironically, that fact changed exactly 2 days later.

Yesterday I posted this secretive picture of our family, as well.

I admit, I’ve had a lot of fun going public with our family expanding.

This is going to be so good. Just about 6 months away…

Love,

Daddy

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